Chloe & Charlie
by CatsConundrum
Summary: Set after the events in Syria. Chloe and Charlie return to Charlie's flat in London where the situation quickly becomes tense and the pair begin to lash out.
1. Intro

Chloe and Charlie

"Remind me why you're sitting here on my couch and not on a plane to Yemen." Charlie muttered with his eyes on the television in front of them.

"We are not doing this _again,_ Charlie." Chloe muttered back.  
"We most certainly are." He turned to her. "They need you out there."

"No, what they need is to let it go."  
"Well that's not going to happen, is it?"

"I'm not dying for Nathan's ego, I said my piece and he wouldn't listen so that's that."  
"How can you be so selfish?" He spat.

" _Selfish?"_ She sighed heavily. "Look, you don't know him like I do. He doesn't know when to quit and it's going to him killed, I'm not going to stand by and watch that happen."

"Nah, you're just gonna run and hope for the best because that's what you do."  
She slapped him sharply across the face.

"Charlie.." She began to speak but he quickly grabbed his crutches and hobbled out of the room shutting the door behind him. " _Shit."_

Chloe stood up and switched off the TV then wandered into the small, cluttered kitchen and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, pouring it into the nearest mug. She took a gulp and took a seat by the window. The street was empty outside with the exception of a couple of cars passing by and a few stragglers crossing through the dim streetlights. Chloe tried to ignore the pangs of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She turned her focus to a ginger cat perched on a low wall across the road before closing her eyes and resting her head on the brick wall.

She opened them again and was immediately blinded by the sun beaming down on her.

"Oh dear." She muttered under her breath, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Chloe picked up the mug sat beside her and downed the rest of her drink.  
"Bit early in the day, ain't it?" Charlie appeared in the doorway.  
"It's tea." She lied setting the mug down beside her.

"Sure, sure. Is there any "tea" left?" He asked.  
"Sit down. Wouldn't want you to fall." Chloe slid from the window and patted a cushion on the sofa.

"Oh how thoughtful."

She poured him a cup then sat beside him.

"Cheers." He said.

"Don't mention it."

"Chloe, about last night."

"I didn't mean to hit you if that's what you're about to say."

"Didn't realise you had a temper.. until you hit me in the face that is." He snorted

"I'm not proud of it." She muttered.

"It's alright darlin', it happens."


	2. Chapter 1 - Phoning a Friend

They shared a moment of silence before Chloe broke it.

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure thing, you got a boyfriend I don't know about?"

"Yeah something like that."  
He handed her his phone and she slid into his bedroom, shutting the door gently behind her.

She quickly glanced around the room before finding what she was looking for, a notebook sat on top of a nightstand. Chloe picked up the small, battered book and quickly flicked through it.

"Aha." She said under her breath as she found what she was looking for, the contacts page.

She tapped a number into Charlie's phone and held it to her ear.  
"Hello? Charlie?" Said Elena almost immediately.

"Hello sunshine." Chloe smirked. "It's been awhile."

"Chloe? I was not expecting this." She laughed. "What's up?"

"It's about _you-know-who_ , Elena."

"Figures." She sighed. "I haven't heard from him, sorry."

"I could really-" Chloe began before Elena suddenly interrupted.

"Hold on a sec, it's Sully." Elena put her on hold before she could comment.

Chloe sat down on Charlie's bed, drumming her fingers on the nearby nightstand.

"Chloe I'm gonna have to call you back, I'll fill you in later okay!" Elena cut off.

"Well that's just brilliant." She muttered to herself.

"Everything alright, darlin'?" Charlie asked, poking his head into the room.

"I was just on the phone with Elena actually."

"Really? How is she? Still fighting the good fight I assume." He said almost excitedly.

He lowered himself onto the bed and set his crutches to one side.

"It was a rather short conversation as you can imagine, she's a busy woman."

"Pleased for her."  
"I don't think I've ever asked how the pair of you met?"

"That's a story for another time."

"Come on now, I'm intrigued." She said, leaning back on the bed and resting on her elbows.

"We'll have to do something about that then, won't we?" He mirrored her so they were face to face.

Chloe moved closer and kissed him. He kissed back and quickly pulled her on top of him as if he'd been anticipating this very moment. She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it over her shoulder.

"Ow!" Charlie exclaimed.

"What? What is it?" Chloe said quickly looking him over.

"Still broken." He pointed to his leg.

"Try not to move it then, sweetheart." She said while helping him remove his sweatshirt.

"As you wish." Charlie unbuttoned his jeans.

"I bet you can sing too, can't you?" Chloe said later that day while she sat with Charlie on the couch, watching him strum on his dusty, old, acoustic guitar. "Go on sing something for me, I can't promise that I won't laugh though."

"I can, believe it or not but you'll just have to use your imagination. I'm suddenly rather hoarse." He coughed unconvincingly.

"Hm, a tad convenient but I'll let you off." She said mockingly.

"Alright but I am hungry." He set his guitar down.

"You don't expect me to cook, do you?"

"Nah I suppose not." Charlie picked up a Chinese takeout menu from the coffee table beside him and held it up. "Takeout it is then."

"Perfect, I'm going to have a quick shower." She said getting to her feet.

"Hold on a minute, what did you want?" He held up the menu again.

"I dunno, surprise me." Chloe shrugged then left the room.


	3. Chapter 2 - Elena Fisher

Charlie's phone began to vibrate making him jump and swear loudly. He picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Charlie speaking, who might this be?" He drawled.

"Hey Charlie, wanted to see how you were holding up." Said Nathan.

"Not too bad mate, how're things on your end?" He sat up on the sofa and eagerly awaited a reply.

"We're about to touch down in Yemen." He answered. "Our contact is meeting us at the airport."

"Who might that be?" Charlie said. "Not Elena surely."

"Yeah, yeah it's Elena." Nathan said softly.

There was a pause.

"She's okay with all this?"

"I doubt it but we'll see."

Chloe stepped out of the bathroom wearing one of Charlie's old sweatshirts.

"Who is it?" She mouthed to him, pointing at the phone.

"It's Drake." He replied.

"May I?" She asked, holding out her hand.

"Sure thing." He passed her the phone.

"Hello Nathan." Chloe said.

"How's it going, Chloe?" He asked. "You and Charlie get back okay?"

"That isn't what you should be worried about, Nate." She wandered into the kitchen with the phone.

"What're you saying?"

"You've gone and dragged Elena into this again, haven't you?"

"I didn't want to." He sighed. "But it was a guaranteed ticket to Yemen."

"Do you even hear yourself?" She said with an edge to her voice.

"How'd you find out? Did Sully tell you?"

"No actually, I spoke to Elena myself."

"What? Why?"

"She had the right to know what's going on."

"Come on Chloe, I know you." He muttered. "It was something else."

"I'll call you back." She hung up abruptly.

She walked back into the living room and passed Charlie back his phone.

"This is getting out of hand." She slumped on the arm of the sofa.

"Nathan was right you know." He said.

"What?"

"About calling in Elena."

"How can you possibly think that?"

"She knows what she's doing." Charlie crossed his arms. "Isn't that why you called her?"

"It wasn't like that."

"I'm sure you had your reasons. Let me know when you feel like sharing them." He picked up his crutches and left the room leaving Chloe alone.

There was a knock at the door.

"Brilliant." She sighed.


	4. Chapter 3 - From Marlowe

Chloe pushed the front door open and was greeted by a man in his 30s wearing a black suit with a red tie. She immediately realised that it was one of Marlowe's men. He didn't look armed but she wasn't about to let her guard down.

"Hi, can I help you?" Chloe asked.

"I know who you are." He said. "You're the driver, right?"

"No sorry, you're mistaken." She said quickly. "Anyway it's late, must be going now."

She attempted to shut the door but he blocked it with his foot and forced it open with his hand.

"Make this easy on the both of us." He muttered.

"What do you want?" She sighed. "I'm very busy."

"Do you mind?" He gestured behind Chloe to the couch.

"By all means." She went to turn around but instead slammed the door shut as the man stepped forward. There was a pained cry as the door connected with his face.

"You _bitch_!" He spat.

"You can't do better than that?" She rolled her eyes.

Something suddenly shot through the door, missing Chloe's head by inches and hitting the wall on the opposite end of the room leaving a bullet sized hole.

"Oh shit!"

He fired again, this time at the lock. The door sprung open before Chloe had a chance to act.

"Hello aga-"

Chloe leapt at him before he could finished his sentence and grabbed his gun.

"Get off!" He growled as they wrestled for the pistol.

She kicked at his legs but struggled to get a solid hit on him as they stumbled through the living room, knocking over various ornaments and books as they went.

"Chloe? What're you doing out there?" Charlie shouted from his room.

"Nothing, just stay in there!" She shouted back, momentarily distracted by his voice.

The agent seized his opportunity and slammed his elbow across her face. She fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

"You made it this way, do realise that?" He said as he stood over her with his gun aimed at her head.

Charlie's bedroom door swung open and the agent didn't hesitate before spinning on the spot and firing his silenced pistol into the doorway.

"Chloe?" He mumbled before hitting the floor with a thud.

Chloe lunged forward and bit into the man's leg with all the strength she could muster. He kicked her hard with his other leg before aiming his gun at her again. She instinctively grabbed it. He violently jolted it upwards pulling Chloe to her feet. The gun fired again, hitting the light this time and showering them in glass.

"You can't win!" He shouted breathlessly. "I know that you know that!"

She headbutted him hard in the nose and tugged the gun free from his grip.

He raised his fist and took a step forward.

"Don't." Chloe spat, raising the gun. "I win."

"You should think twice before pulling the trigger, Frazer." His hand fell to his side.

"Why is that?" She laughed humourlessly. "You don't want to die?"

"We know everything about you." He said.

"All the more reason." She placed her finger on the trigger.

"We have an offer for you."  
"Sorry, not interested." She squeezed the trigger, sending the unknown agent to the ground.

Chloe glanced over to where Charlie was sprawled in the doorway.

"Oh shit, Charlie." She rushed over and carefully stepped over him so she was in a better position to lift him.

"Please be alright." She begged as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and pulled him up then dragged him over to the bed where she gently lowered him.

Blood dripped from a wound on the side of his head where the bullet had grazed him and began to pool on the white pillow. Chloe ran to the bathroom and returned with a small, grey towel. She held the towel to his head and rapidly blinked away the tears which began to well in her eyes. She turned and looked at the dead body lying on the rug in the living room and noticed something sliding out of from his trouser pocket. Chloe crawled over and picked it up. It was a phone and there was a message displayed on the screen from an unknown number which read:

 _Is it done?_

Chloe's heart pounded in her chest as she replied with the following:

 _All done._

The phone beeped immediately and a new message appeared on the screen. It said:

 _We'll be up to clean the place. Watch your back."_

"Shit." She muttered and ran over to the window.

The street below was empty but she couldn't tell how long that would last. Chloe had to move fast.

She realised she was still holding the gun so she tucked it in her belt before rushing to the front door which was still open. Next to the door was the wheelchair Charlie had arrived from the hospital in the day he broke his leg. Chloe picked up the folded chair and returned to him with it. She unfolded it and clumsily placed him in it with the towel balanced over the top of his head.

Praying that no one was around, Chloe charged through the corridor with the wheelchair and towards the lift ahead.

Once they reached the ground floor, she sped out of the building and into the cold, wet, street outside. Her grip on the wheelchair tightened as they crossed the road over to where her car was parked. Nearby a delivery car pulled up and a young man stepped out of the vehicle.

Chloe avoided eye contact and kept her head down as she unloaded the unconscious Charlie into the backseat of her car.

Another vehicle pulled up across the street, this time it was a sleek black car, They had arrived to "clean" she thought.

"Hey sweetheart, they've gone out." She called to the delivery man, pointing to Charlie's apartment's window. "Don't waste your time."

"Great, thanks a lot." He grumbled and returned to his vehicle.

Chloe gave him a thumbs up before sliding into the driver's seat of her car. She spotted the black car in her rear view mirror and watched as two men in matching suits stepped out and looked towards the apartment building.

Rain began to hammer down on the wind-shield as Chloe sped off into the night, leaving the clueless agents behind.


	5. Chapter 4 - Victor Sullivan

Chloe pulled up in the hospital car park and stepped out of the vehicle. The rain hammered down on her as she pulled the wheelchair from the trunk and clumsily dropped Charlie into it.

She quickly grabbed her red leather jacket before wheeling Charlie through the automatic doors and into the warmth of the hospital atrium.

"My friend's injured." She half-shouted at the nearest nurse. "Bullet wound."

"We'll have it taken care of then have a word with you in a moment." The nurse took the chair from Chloe's grasp and wheeled him away before she could comment.

She peeled the sopping wet bangs from her forehead, sighing as she approached the nearby bathroom.

Chloe slipped into a cubicle and awkwardly pulled the damp, bloodstained sweatshirt over her head then dumped it on the floor beside the toilet. She pulled on the leather jacket and zipped it up before exiting the cubicle. She momentarily caught sight of herself in the large mirror above the sinks and studied her reflection for a moment. The fight with the agent had split her lip and caused a small bruise to form on her cheek

"Ow." Chloe winced as she lightly brushed the cut on her lip with her finger before grabbing a handful of napkins from the dispenser and wringing out her ponytail.

The door slammed shut behind her suddenly making her jump and drop the napkins in the sink.

It was a nurse who quietly apologised as she stood beside Chloe to wash her hands.

"Lovely weather today, isn't it?" The nurse joked.

"Yeah, delightful." She turned to leave but the nurse reached out and stopped her.

"I don't mean to pry but is everything alright?" She indicated to Chloe's wounds.

"I'm fine just do me a favour." Chloe looked the nurse in the eye. "A man just came in with a head injury and a cast on his leg, hard to miss. Take care of him for me."

Chloe swept out of the room and closed the door gently behind her before the nurse could respond.

She collided with a woman dressed in a black suit with a red tie as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Excuse you." Chloe muttered.

"Not so fast, _Chloe."_ The woman said. "Let's have a chat."

"You're not as stupid as you look. How did you find us?" She muttered, noticing two more agents lurking near the reception.

"You're easy to track besides we figured you'd stop by a hospital with Cutter's injury and all."

"Have a good look at his flat then did you?" Chloe folded her arms across her chest and frowned at the woman.

"Yes, we did." She smirked. "And if you think you're going to go unpunished for killing one of my men you're an idiot but you don't strike me as an idiot, Chloe. So you'll do as I say."

The other agents silently joined them.

"Marlowe's waiting. We need to do this quickly." One of them spoke.

"Time to go, come on." The woman ordered. "Bring her."

"What about the other one, Helen?" The other agent asked.

"We have an eye on him, he won't be a problem. Now let's go."

One of the agents grabbed Chloe by the wrist and the four of them marched out of the hospital and into the car park.

"Get in." Helen muttered to Chloe when they reached a black taxi.

"Nice wheels." She scoffed as she climbed into the back-seat.

Helen slid into the seat opposite her and the two men took their places in the driver and passenger seats.

"Now tell us everything you know about Victor Sullivan."


	6. Chapter 5 - Hospital Shootout

Chloe laughed.

"Really? I barely know the guy." She lied.

"We've seen you together." Helen replied bluntly.

"He's a friend of a friend."

"Ah yes, Nathan Drake. The two of you have history, correct?"

"He's a mate." She turned her attention to the window.

"Yes I'm sure."

"You're wasting my time." Chloe muttered. "Are we done here?"

"You're out of the game, you have no move to make." Helen shot Chloe an icy stare and pulled out a small blade. "You're lucky to still be breathing, I could run you through and have you in that dumpster over there without so much as a glance our way so don't test me. It's not like anyone would miss you."

Chloe leaned forwards and spat in the woman's face.

Before Helen could raise her knife Chloe pulled the gun from her belt and pointed it at her head.

"I'm done playing with you. If you come for me and Charlie again I'll kill you, got it?"

"You'll regret this." Helen growled.

"You've got something on your face." Chloe kicked the door open and slid out of the taxi, her gun still aimed on the woman. "Places to be and all that."

Chloe slammed the door shut behind her and ran back towards the hospital building. She heard the two agents in the front of the taxi climb out of the vehicle. Shots suddenly rang out followed by several screams. She risked a glance over her shoulder and realised the agents were in pursuit with their pistols raised.

Chloe dove behind a car, breathing heavily.

"Someone call the police!" Someone cried out nearby.

"Not a bad idea." Chloe reached for her phone before remembering it was broken. "Shit."

"She's behind that car over there." Said one of the agents.

Seeing no other options she darted towards the hospital and narrowly made it inside. The agents lead by Helen continued their pursuit.

The hospital was in complete chaos with patients and hospital staff filling the atrium, running in all directions.

"Get to cover!" Chloe shouted over the noise but to no avail.

There was a spray of bullets overhead as the agents entered.

Chloe ran through the crowd and towards the corridor where they'd wheeled Charlie away moments ago.

The corridor was empty with the exception of a man on crutches with a bandage wrapped around his head.

"Charlie!" She ran over to him and embraced him. "You're not supposed to be out of bed."

"You're a sight for sore eyes." He grinned at her. "Horrible service here."

"We have to get the hell out of here." She said grimly. "They've found us."

"I guessed as much." He muttered, motioning behind him where an agent was sprawled on the ground.

"You did that? I'm impressed."

"I have my ways, now let's go."

"My car's outside, think you can manage?" Chloe asked.

"I think so." Charlie replied. "Watch my back."

"Got it." She gripped her pistol.


End file.
